Ryan Gill is crazy. His kid said it so it must be true. But after talking with him for an hour, one thing is clear- he is also dedicated. To HFA. To quality work. To his team.

I sat down with him to get the scoop on how HFA does civil engineering and left with an education.

KE: Tell me, what is civil engineering?

RG: It’s a two-fold answer.

KE: Educate me.

RG: Okay, here you go, this is how to be civil…

When you’re creating a building, of any sort, civil engineering is everything below ground. Ground up is for the architects. So things like making sure water can get to a building while waste can get out, making sure parking and fire access requirements are met, and creating a landscape design are all one part. Part two is permitting. Making sure code is being met no matter what state, city or jurisdiction we are working in.

KE: HFA is known for implementing sustainable design across a diverse terrain of projects. How does the civil team do its part?

RG: Well we always take measures to improve downstream water quality. Erosion and sediment control is also a focus we maintain. We do our part in helping control the environmental footprint. Even though commercial development is a large part of the projects we handle, one of our goals is to be… as civil as we can to everyone - from the people we work with to the environment we live in.  

Ryan is HFA’s civil engineering program manager. He leads a 12 person team through the daily ins and outs of their profession which includes over 300 projects year. As a University of Arkansas graduate and Arkansas native, Ryan, along with HFA Vice President of Architecture Dave Wilgus, have been major assets to the firm’s local project growth for NWA. The engineer and architect duo have dedicated four years to actively personifying HFA’s culture of collaboration and have increased local projects by 181%.


Ryan Gill, P.E., is licensed in 36 states. He can be contacted at 479-530-8433.